After making his name on small scale genre fare like Sin City, Planet Terror and Machete, director Robert Rodriguez takes on his first mega-budget blockbuster with Alita: Battle Angel. Admirably, the sizeable cash injection has not replaced his signature style, with Alita sharing the same Mexican aesthetic and moments of graphic violence that are trademarks of a Rodriguez feature.

The latest science-fiction offering from streaming giant Netflix is a remarkably sombre drama set on a toxic planet Earth, one that is mere days away from being completely abandoned. As the final few expedition ships prepare to set off towards Io, a moon orbiting Jupiter which could inhabit human life, young scientist Sam Walden (Qualley) desperately searches for a sign that her homeworld isn’t beyond saving. She faces increasing pressure to pack up shop from a boyfriend who is lightyears away and a traveller named Micah (Mackie) who turns up on her doorstep in a hot air balloon. As you do.

How best to describe the plot of Cold Spots? Imagine a healthy dollop of H.P. Lovecraft, served with a sprinkle of Twin Peaks and a dash of Rosemary’s Baby and you’ll be on the right track. Unfortunately, the book can’t hope to match the quality of its iconic influences, but it is nonetheless an entertaining read.

Walking down Wicker on a cloudy winter day is a bleak experience. Just outside the city centre, it’s jarring how abruptly Sheffield transforms from bustling shopping location to the epitome of high street woe.

Tradition dictates that at the end of the year any critic worth their salt should (nay, must) throw together a list of the top ten movies they saw in the last twelve months. Well, I’ll do you one better. Here you’ll find every single film I saw this year ranked from the very worst to the very best.

A local news project run collaboratively with a group of journalists between September and December 2019.

Soulcalibur VI is bitterly disappointing. It’s clear that the developers at Project Soul have made an effort to course-correct after the bizarre fifth instalment, but in doing so they saddle this entry with an entirely different set of problems.